This coming Saturday, 14 February 2026, the BIFHSGO monthly meeting will be online only. After the presentations, attendees are invited to turn on their video and microphone for an online social.
Click HERE to register.
9:00 – 10:00 am ET: Exploring Pictures with AI: the Good and the Bad
Presenter: Paul Cripwell
You’ve acquired a picture of an object, scene, or ancestor, but have no idea of its location or timeframe. How do you find out? Ask AI! That seems to be the answer to everything these days. But how do you know if the information you get back is accurate? Paul Cripwell will walk you through the explorations he conducted on some of his own pictures—what AI got right, what it got wrong, and how he figured it out.
10:00 – 11:30 am ET: Rain-Soaked Roots: Weather Shaped the Lives of Our British Isles Ancestors
Presenter: John Reid
Weather touched every part of our ancestors’ lives—from daily chores under rainy skies to celebrations on sunny summer days, from mild seasons that brought good harvests to the storms that forced people to adapt or move on. This talk explores how both ordinary and extreme weather shaped life across the UK, Ireland and beyond. Drawing on official records, newspapers, and personal diaries, John will trace how weather influenced work, health, migration, and memory, revealing a layer of family history often overlooked.